2025 World Photographic Cup
I am honored to have represented the USA in the 2025 World Photographic Cup (WPC). The World Photographic Cup is an international photography competition that brings together professional photographers from around the globe to compete as a national team. Like the Olympic Games, the Cup awards individuals’ images with gold, silver, and bronze medals. Then, teams earn points based on an aggregate placing of the top ten images across all ten categories. The World Photographic Cup is awarded to the national team that receives the highest overall score.
My image, “Intertwined” was selected by Team USA as one of 3 images in the Natural Portrait category for Team USA. Images were selected from thousands of submissions to International Photographic Competition and Merit Image Review at PPA.
BRONZE MEDAL!!!
Over the moon is probably an understatment. I am humbled, thrilled and so very proud of the work that went into the creatation of “Intertwined”. I am honored to have been asked to be part of Team USA and grateful that my image helped propel Team USA forward.
Team USA Wins the 2025 World Photographic Cup!
WPC is a team competition more than anything. For each finalist image, our team earned 1-10 points (10 points for first place and 1 point for 10th). Team USA had a competition-leading 12 finalist images and when all of the points were tallied, we earned first place and brought home the Cup to the United States!!
Some Moments from Imaging USA
Reflections on my WPC Journey
I never even thought about being part of Team USA. Then I got an email from Rich Newell telling me an image, “Intertwined,” was being considered for the team. I was floored. I was honored to have been considered but didn’t think it was going any further.
Then I got the email congratulating me on being on the team. Wow. Just wow!! “Intertwined” was one of three Natural Portrait entries for the USA. I was thrilled and thankful to have been asked, and I would have a cool jacket as a memento. Life was good.
Becoming a Finalist
I watched the finalist announcement on December 17 to see how our team fared and to be ready to send messages of congratulations to the other photographers. I could not believe it when our image was selected as a finalist. All these incredible photographs and photographers, and the judges thought our photo was one of the ten best natural portrait images from around the globe. I can’t describe the emotion. Once again, I was sure that was the end…
So you can imagine the jubilation to have made it into the top three by earning the bronze medal in my category. To have an image crafted for two dancers be well-received and respected is a dream.
Optimism for the Future
I do know that every artist can relate to this journey. We are predisposed to protect ourselves by telling ourselves to expect to lose. We are also hard-wired to ignore most of the positive feedback we get. A part of our brain filters the massive volume of information we receive to ignore the noise and things that aren’t threats. That part of my brain tells me this is a one-and-done; we got lucky. But my more self-aware self is more optimistic for the future. This image is the direct result of our collaboration to translate the boundless power of dance into something magical in the millisecond when the shutter clicks. I believe that together, we can capture lightning in the bottle once again.
I Stand on the Shoulders of Giants
This moment could not have happened without Katherine (@k.ettles) and Antony (@ztony_dance) working diligently to make this image a reality. It also could not have happened without each dancer along the way who shared their journey and artistry with me. You are all part of this story. Thank you from the bottom of my very whole heart.
2025 WPC Finalist Announcement
There is a lot of amazing photography here. It is worth the time. Enjoy the WPC 2025 Best of Nation and Finalists announcement below if you prefer a video.
Some images are NSFW.
About the World Photographic Cup
WPC represents 50 countries this year, and each country supplies one judge to score the images (a judge will not evaluate submissions from their own country). The 10 top photos in each category were announced on December 10, 2024. The top 3 medal winners and the winning country will be announced at the convention of the host country in Quito, Ecuador, on March 20, 2025.
Founded in 2011, the World Photographic Cup brings together photographers from around the globe to compete in their National Team for the honor of bringing the Cup home. Additionally, WPC rewards individual excellence with gold, silver, and bronze medals in each category.